


nothing but high hopes and thin air

by haemophilus



Category: Arrested Development
Genre: Americana, Drug Use, Gen, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Road Trip, Taking the Bananagrabber Show Way Too Seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-18 14:06:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14854220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haemophilus/pseuds/haemophilus
Summary: Gob got the hell out of Newport Beach when he was nineteen years old.





	1. Prologue Part 1: Newport Beach

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GoldStarGrl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldStarGrl/gifts).



> Don’t know how long this will be but I wanted to post some stuff to feel good about myself. Hope you like it!

The worst thing about mail was how difficult it was to set on fire. Gob tried again, lighter to paper, but had no success. The words on the page still glared at him with a sharp, black typeface and an unthinkable message.

_ Unless your son’s performance improves, we’re going to have to leave him back a second time. . . _

He was two years older than Michael and about to be in the same graduating class.  _ Michael _ , the golden child, would get another chance to feel superior.

Gob ripped a strip off of the page, and dropped it into the running sink originally meant to prevent his apartment from lighting on fire. Lindsey too, he mused, would be in the same grade. But Lindsey didn’t have the same superiority complex as his brother, so -

The paper disintegrated in the sink. Same outcome as fire, but not as satisfying. If he had a blowtorch maybe this would go differently. Mom had thrown his away last month - called it a “fire hazard” for Buster. He kept forgetting (and forgetting and forgetting and forgetting) to buy or steal a new one.

Footsteps padded behind him and then there were warm hands wrapping around his waist. Sex and stale perfume (Bethany? Eve? Amanda?) pressed a kiss on the back of his neck.  

“Cutting class again, Gobie?”

He forced a smile and tilted his head back. Her eyes were mischievous. Gob gave her a ghost of a kiss.

“Starting to think about cutting class forever,” he said into her mouth. The girl giggled and tucked her hands into the front pockets of his jeans. Her playful fingers jingled against the keys and coins inside.

“What are you gonna do instead?” she asked.

He pulled her hands out of his pockets and laced their fingers together - stalling. She sighed happily at the implication that she was involved in whatever plans he had. Fuck, he needed to get out of Newport Beach. Go somewhere worthy of a magician - spotlights and crowds and the glittering night stretching on and on and on.

“I’m thinking Vegas,” he said. “Penn and Teller. Wanna come?”

“Sure,” she said, burying her face into his neck. “When?”

He smiled and slid their conjoined hands down his pants.

“After we fuck,” he said.

*

He paid for a white fifteen-seater van in full with a check from a checkbook he stole from his mom. He and sex-and-stale-perfume drove mindlessly around Newport before parking in an alley and fucking, fucking, fucking. Her blonde hair spilled into his eyes and mouth as she rode him from the top. Great position - didn’t have to do any work at all and got off anyway.

A fat fly flew in through the inch-wide space in the window they’d left open to let out body heat. It buzzed loudly as it made a brief home on his dashboard. He watched it rub its tiny hands together as if it were on the verge of dazzling them with an illusion. Totally unaware that his mastery of levitation was all the trick he’d need to make it big as a human magician. What a sad life to live to be so unappreciated-

“Gob?” said the girl. She stopped riding him and touched his face. He pulled his eyes away from the fly to look up at her. Sex-and-stale-perfume was red and sweaty from exertion; it wasn’t exactly a turn on.

“Huh?” he said. The girl rubbed at his earlobe to soothe him. Her hand was damp - gross.

“You just seem kind of out of it,” she said. “Do you want to stop?”

The sweat on her thumb was making his ear itch. Gob grabbed her hand and pulled it away. He dazzled her with a smile that hurt his mouth.

“You think I want to stop fucking a great piece of ass like you?” He scoffed. “Come on!”

The girl giggled. She leaned down and gave him a deep kiss. Sex-and-stale-perfume ran her hands through his hair.

“Where do you go, Gob Bluth?” she murmured into his ear. Her breath was hot and wet on his face. Jesus, if she kept being this unsexy he was gonna lose his boner.He put his hands on her hips and thrusted slowly into her. She gasped, red lips startled into a perfect O. Much better.

“Where do you want me to be?” he said.

*

“Who else did you invite?” said Audrey (?). She rolled the window down further and stuck her arm out of it. Her fingers tap, tap, tapped against the side of the car.

Gob frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You bought a fifteen-seater,” said Audrey (?). She pulled her hair out of its ponytail and let it whip in the wind. Audrey (?) ruffled it with her hand until it untucked from behind her ear. “Thought you did that with some other people in mind.”

Gob looked behind him at the rows and rows of empty seats. He hadn’t thought about who was supposed to fill them when he bought the car. It just seemed more road-trippy to have a car this big.

“Of course I had other people in mind,” he lied. “Don’t be stupid. The seats are for uh. . .all of your. . .I mean  _ our  _ terrible friends.”

Audrey (?) giggled.

“You’re so funny, Gob,” she said.

“I sure am,” said Gob, though he wasn’t sure what he said that was so funny. He turned on the radio and turned it up loud to get her to be quiet. She squealed in delight and belted out two songs in a row. However, when the commercials started playing, she turned down the volume again.

“We’re going the wrong way if you want to pick up [names, names, names, names, namesnamesnames],” she said.

Gob laughed. “Nah. . .just taking the scenic route.”

Audrey (?) pushed up her sunglasses and gave him a judgemental smile.

“Gob. . .you can’t get to their house going this way. You have to turn around.”

He looked to the right and then to the left. A three-lane street with no. . . _ official  _ U-turns in sight.

“Oh, yeah. I knew that,” he said. Time to improvise. His heart pounded as he crossed over to one lane. . .the next. . .the next. . .and then -

“Oh my God. Watch out!” Audrey (?) yelled. Gob revved up the van and drove over the grassy median. The van bump, bump, bumped until he skidded onto the street once more. Another driver honked at Gob as he cut the driver off. Gob rolled down his window and put out his middle finger, laughing.  _ God _ , how great it was to be red-hot with adventure. What a great companion he chose, to get his blood flowing so early. He looked over to Audrey (?) who was shaking.

“What the hell was that?” she said.

“I told you,” said Gob, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tight. “I was taking the scenic route.”


	2. Prologue Part 2: California Desert

They stopped at a gas station for cigarettes and bubblegum on the way back. Audrey(.) didn’t like to kiss him when he tasted like a smoker. She was paying for the goods at the counter when he spotted something - a payphone. He stared, stared, stared at it until Audrey(.) tapped him on the shoulder.

“Ready to go?”

“No. I need to make a call,” he said. Then, he flashed her a smile. “Go out to the car. I’ll be out in a minute.”

He touched the small of her back - a promise. She flushed.

“Okay,” she said.

*

_ Message 1: January 17, 1989. _

**_Bluth Residence. We can’t come to the phone right now. Leave your name and number and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible._ **

**_BEEP._ **

_ Hey, Mike! Mikey. . .Michael. It’s Gob. Just calling to let you know that I’m about to go on the best road trip of all time. No telling when I’ll be back. Boy, I bet graduating high school seems really lame right now. I mean, in comparison. _

_ Anyway, I just thought you should know how awesome I am which is why I’m calling. Don’t be too jealous - when I get back I’ll make sure to tell you all about the amazing stuff I did. _

_ Again, this is Gob, your broth- _

_ * _

Six, six, _six_ , **_six_** ~~people~~ friends packed into his van. A dozen suitcases filled up the space unoccupied by ~~people~~ friends. They traveled in pairs like modern pioneers, young and invincible and free of any gross horses that might have bothered couples a hundred years ago. Smoke billowed out of their superior covered wagon as they raced past a sign that said _Welcome to Nevada_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so sorry about the brevity here but I really just wanted to get the prologue out of the way. I hope you like this little snippet and I’m sure subsequent chapters will be longer.*
> 
> *This fic is actually complete as I lost inspiration. Thank you for reading!


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